I don't recall that Larry Niven provided any clues as to the fate of the Ringworld denizens that fled the structure via the space vehicles they constructed out of the stabilizing rockets(rim jets) from the edges of the Ringworld. Where in Known Space did the escapees from Ringworld end up?
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1As far as I know the author never says. I assume the Puppeteers would have noticed them if they were still active anywhere near the Ringworld, so I'd say dead or fled a significant distance.– dmckee --- ex-moderator kittenApr 13, 2013 at 22:49
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Halarprillin (think thats the right name, she's the one Luis took back to known space when they left the first time) stated that it was her people who used the rim jets to leave the ringworld to explore (but some of what she told Luis was lies), so probably some of them came back. Mind you its a big galaxy nothing to say they didnt start colonies on worlds far far away– DaiApr 14, 2013 at 10:56
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3point your eyes toward the smoke rings.– sarge_smithApr 14, 2013 at 20:23
1 Answer
There isn't a ton of information around - from http://news.larryniven.net/concordance/main.asp?alpha=C#CityBuildercolonyworlds:
City Builder colony worlds
Ten planets in stellar systems in the vicinity of the Ringworld, reportedly colonized by the City Builders. [Spoiler alert: Ringworld] The Map Room in Heaven displayed ten globes; Louis Wu thought these were the colony worlds. According to the story told by Halrloprillalar Hotrufan (Prill) to the First Ringworld Expedition, the City Builder race originated on one of these planets, five of which were visited by her ramscoop ship, the Pioneer, on its regular trade run. Prill claimed two of these worlds were densely populated before the Ringworld was built, but had afterward been abandoned, the populace moved en masse to the Ringworld. Nessus speculated these worlds included some in Human Space, and Louis Wu even briefly speculated Earth itself was once a City Builder colony [2]. [Spoiler alert: The Ringworld Engineers] However, in light of the discoveries of the Second Ringworld Expedition, it appears this was one of Prill’s "tall tales" aggrandizing her people, and that the City Builders originated on the Ringworld. No other account mentions these colony worlds; therefore their existence, abandoned or not, is unconfirmed.
Reference: Ringworld chs. 16, 21
I think there was some insight into this in the Ringworld RPG. Wish I had a copy just to read.